


The unexpected

by infinitywarbrokeme



Series: Infinity War: Aftermath [1]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Gen, Nebula Has A Heart, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Post-snap, Self-Harm, She just never shows it, Suicide Attempt, Suicide Notes, Tony Stark Has Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Tony is struggling
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-14
Updated: 2019-07-30
Packaged: 2019-10-27 22:01:43
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 2,714
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17774999
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/infinitywarbrokeme/pseuds/infinitywarbrokeme
Summary: AS YOU SEE IN THE TAGS, MASSAIVE TW! TAKE CARE OF YOURSELVES FIRST.





	1. Chapter 1

When Tony got off of the ship with Nebula, he felt nothing but the ashes on his hands. He didn't want to feel anything else because if he lost those ashes, he would lose someone special. 

Peter Parker. Spider-Man. Underoos.  _Mr. Stark, I don't feel so good._

The first person he saw was Rhodey, and he was glad that he didn't lose his best friend as well. He went towards his friend and placed his head onto his shoulder. 

"Hey, Tones, I'm glad to see you here," Rhodey said, taking notice of Tony's appearance. "You look like shit."

"That's funny because I don't feel it."

"Well, what do you feel?"

A beat of silence was made. 

"Nothing." 

Tony walked towards the compound while looking at his hands. His mind was spacey like the vast of space, empty and scary. But that didn't matter to him anymore. He didn't know if he wanted to say fuck it and run away or stay with the team. While in the compound, he saw Steve eyeing him from across the room. Gathering his bearings to encounter the upcoming event, he took deep breaths to calm himself. 

"Hey, um, I'm sorry--" Steve began to say, but he was interupted. 

"Don't. Just don't." Tony's voice came out as a whisper. He turned away to head to his floor when he saw a hand on his chest. Steve's hand to be exact. His body went stiff as he backed away slowly. "Don't do that."

"Don't do what?" The blonde asked as he looked down at his hand. Suddenly, he remembered that Siberian bunker. "Oh."

Steve watched his old friend walk away with some shakiness from his hands. "How do I make this right?" 

"Make what right?" Natasha asked. 

"Things with Tony."

"Now, what he needs is comfort and understanding. He doesn't know how to ask for help, so it's going to be a long ride for the both of you. He's a good guy, Steve. He'll come around when he's ready and only when he's ready."

"I don't know what to do."

"Be there like you promised him in that letter...don't look at me like that, I know that letter was for him."

"...because you're the best spy out there."

"I have a metal for that," she flashed her signature smirk. "Do what I told you to do and it'll be fine. I got to check to see what Rhodey knows about our housing situation, although I'm sure that it hasn't changed. By the way, Tony's been on your floor more times than I can count." With that, she walked away to leave a confused Steve. 

* * *

Tony locked himself to his room after finding out that Pepper had also died due to the snap. At this point, he didn't fell the need to do much of anything. Except to stare at the wall all day, deciding if he should visit his friend in the living room. As he pondered on that train of thought, he heard a knock on the door. 

"Tones," Rhodey called from the other side of the wall. "Come out here, it's movie night!"

"Go without me." Tony replied without any sign of emotion. 

"C'mon, please--"

"Leave me alone, please."

After a few minutes, he was convinced that he was left alone for good. He knew that he was too far gone. 

He glared at the drawer besides him and saw a razor blade, sitting on it. 

_Don't do it._

_Don't._

_Do._

_It._

He picked it up and let it sit on his wrist before gliding it across his wrist.  _Why didn't I feel that?_

He continued to cut until he reached his elbow. Looking down at what he did, he shot up from the bed and ran to his restroom where he had medical supplies in his cabinet. He grabbed the disinfecting cream and bandages and cleaned himself off. 

After he cleaned and bandaged his wounds, he looked at himself in the mirror for the first time in days.

_Not so tough, huh? Dad must be rolling in his grave._

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


	2. Chapter 2

Nebula walked herself to what terrans called the "living room" and sat on the couch. She wasn't too familiar with the planet's cultures that the company around her has shown, but she was glad that she had somewhere to stay. 

"Hi, I assume you're Nebula?" A male voice asked from behind. 

"Who's asking?" She replied. 

"James Rhodes," Rhodey answered. "I'm Tony's close friend, but you can call me Rhodey."

"I'm Nebula."

"Is it alright if I sat next to you?"

She waved her hand as a gesture for him to sit down. "Thanos met them on Titan. I followed the ship to the planet without anyone noticing. Some wizard was there with my group, the guardians of the galaxy, and a boy."

"What was the boy's name?"

"I think it was Peter. He had powers of a spider. Stark loved him a lot more than he let on."

"Tony was never the type to be so open about emotions.I've known him for many years."

"The boy didn't survive," she continued. "I don't think he would've lived if we'd won either. Stark just broke down sobbing and clinging onto what was left of him. He has a good heart. He knows what's right."

Rhodey nodded. "Yeah, he has a heart of gold. I love him like a brother, and I don't know what I'd do if he didn't come back."

"I managed to feel a certain attachment to him as well."

* * *

 

Steve was looking out the window in the training room when the door opened to reveal Tony wearing a long sleeve hoodie and sweatpants. "Hey."

Tony flashed a small smile. "Hi."

"I heard about the kid and I'm sorry."

"Same about Barnes." 

Steve shuddered at the name. "Thanks, I didn't think you'd care."

"I was the one who helped you escape the raft and paid for his therapy sessions."

"After all we did to you?"

The brunette nodded. "That doesn't matter now, huh?"

"I guess not," Steve replied to his question. "You alright?"

"I'm fine."  _No, I'm numb and sad at the same time. My mind is trying to escape my body._

"I missed you. I thought about you all the time. I thought that if things went differently, we'd be as close as you are with Rhodey."

"Don't worry about it." Tony's voice started wavering at the last syllable. 

"What's wrong?" Steve directed his attention to the other man and saw his tear stained face. "Tony?"

"I did something bad, Steve."

 _He used my first name. This is NOT good!_ "Whatever you did, we can get through it together." Steve walked to his old friend and pulled him into a hug. 

"Don't tell Rhodey, please."  Stark was sobbing now. That scared the blonde. 

"Tell me, show me..." 

That was the moment Tony gave his hands to Steve as his friend rolled up his sleeves to reveal fresh, red cuts starting from his wrists to his forearms. 

"Oh my God." The blonde whispered and hugged the billionaire again. 

" 'm sorry."

"I'll clean this up, okay? I'm not mad, I promise." He led his friend to the first aid kit to clean his wounds. 

After he finished cleaning and dressing them, he secretly sent a text to Natasha. 

_Steve: Meet me in my room tonight. I need to talk to you._

_Nat: Okay._

"Cap?" Tony asked, breaking Steve's train of thought. 

"Yeah?"

"Would momma be ashamed of me?"

 _Oh, it's that type of a question._ "She wouldn't let this be reason to be ashamed of you. And I won't either. Let's get you something to eat, is that alright?"

"I know you won't take no for an answer, so I have to say okay."

Steve let out a chuckle. "You know how I work."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me just say...my bad. I'm so dead tired it's insane! I go to work Sat. so I don't know when the next update will come! Thanks for reading!


	3. Chapter 3

 Steve and Natasha met on the balcony later that night as Steve was trying to figure out how to tell her. Rhodey followed the two teammates. 

"Is everything okay?" She asked with a small glare of concern. 

"It's about Tony-"

"What about him?" Rhodey intruded. 

"He, uh, hurt himself earlier." The solider answered with a sad sigh. 

"Why wasn't I told this?" Rhodey asked as his voiced lingered with anger. 

"He told Steve." Natasha replied. 

"He's my brother! I have the fucking right to know, but you almost killed him!"

"I know." A voice said, laced up in tears. Steve. "I know."

The three took deep breaths. 

"We need to stay calm," the assassin informed. "We can't help him like this."

"I have a mission in three days in Berlin." Tony's best friend breathed out. 

"We'll help him while you're gone," the solider said. "I promise you."

Natasha turned her head to Steve. "I'll be here, too," she turned her head back to Rhodes. "Tony will be here when you get back."

"Okay," Rhodes said. "I'll talk to you guys later."

* * *

 

Rhodey saw Tony sitting at the living room table, hiding his arm. "Hey, tones."

"Hi, Rhodey."

"You know I have a mission in three days, right?"

Tony nodded slowly. 

"Are you going to be okay?"

"Yeah, I-I'll be okay."

"I love you, you know. Don't ever forget it."

"I love you, too, Rhodey-bear."

Rhodey couldn't bare to tell his friend the danger of the mission, so he walked over to him and embraced him into a long hug. "Stay strong. Ask for help, okay?"

"I'll try."

 

 


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> TW: Death of a main character and drug use

When Tony was alone, he'd hide in his lab to escape everyone and everything. The loss of Peter Parker never left his mind as the young voice echoed through his dreams at night. Now, he never truly slept. He missed Rhodey, but he knew that his friend would be back today. He looked down his arms and shook his head in defeat. 

_I fucked up my clean streak._

_Way to go, Stark._

_Everyone died because of you._

_You're nothing without your suit._

_Go back to sleeping around, we don't want your essence here._

"F.R.I.D.A.Y, activate black-out for one hour. Don't let anyone in."

"As you wish," the A.I. replied. "Be careful." 

He glanced at the large bag on his table that contained pills and bottles of water. Walking towards the table, he opened the bag of the drugs that was sent to him by a friend and grabbed a handful amount of them, placing them onto the table. 

Don't _do this, man._

"Fuck it." He threw a few of them into his mouth and swallowed them with water. 

"Sir, the team is requesting your presence in the common room." F.R.I.D.A.Y alerted. 

"I'm on my way."

* * *

 

 

The team decided to start their regualr movie night for the first time since before the accords. Natasha was gathering the snacks in the kitchen when she saw Tony walk towards a bowl. 

"Hey, buddy, what are you up to?" She asked him. 

"Making Rhodey snacks because he'll need them when he comes back." Tony replied with a hint of joy. 

"Really now?" She asked as she handed him a bowl. "I made you a bowl."

He shifted his weight. "I don't need it."

"You have to eat something. If you don't don't make you, Steve will."

Tony sighed and took the bowl and took the bowls to the common room and placed Rhodey's bowl next to him. Steve turned to him and waved. Clint, Nebula, and Rocket were sitting close by as Thor and Bruce were sitting next to each other. 

"Hey, Tiny." Clint greeted. 

Tony looked him dead in the eye. "No."

"What movie are we watching?"

"We don't know yet." 

While everyone was trying to figure out what movie to watch, Steve felt his phone vibrate in his pocket and walked into the kitchen away from everyone else. 

"Hello?" Steve greeted. 

"Hello, this is Kevin, I'm in the same unit as Rhodes."

"Oh. Well, how can I help you?"

The person on the other line took a deep breath. "The mission went wrong and we lost a few good people. I'm sorry to say that he was one of them."

Steve froze. "Oh, um, I'm sorry to hear that. I'll find his family." He hung up the phone and looked out the room. 

 _Time to tell him._ "Tony, come in here for a minute!"

Tony nodded and walked into the kitchen where a cup of water was placed onto the table. Steve directed his hand to the water. "Take a seat, Tony."

"Alright," the billionaire obeyed. "Was that Rhodey? Did he get an extended time on the mission?"

The blonde shook his head and sat down. Placing her hand into his own and taking a deep breath, he began to break the news. "Tony, the mission went wrong. They didn't give me details, but they lost a few comerades." He took a shuddering breath. "Rhodey, he was one of them."

"I just talked to him. That can't be true."

"If it was a lie, I wouldn't tell you," Steve rubbed his knuckles. "I'm so sorry, Tony." 

Tony looked up at his friend with empty eyes. "I don't want him to go."

"If it makes you feel any better, it was painless."

"No."

"Bud-"

"No! I lost everything! I lost Peter, Pepper, Happy, and Rhodey! I lost everyone!" 

Steve stood up and hugged him from the back as his friend began to sob like never before which resulted into the team rushing into the kitchen. 

"Oh, shit." Clint said under his breath. 

"This can't be good." Rocket muttered to Nebula, who nodded in agreement. 

 

 

 


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve tells the team about Rhodey; the funeral.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this is a short chapter! I'll post more soon!

* * *

Steve watched as Tony hurried to the elevator to head for his floor. He waited until his friend was gone before heading back to the living room where the team met him. Everyone was silent as they waited for the fews. The silence was almost painful as if you could hear water dripping from the sink and a pencil drop onto the wooden floor. He took a look at Natasha and shook his head in grief, telling her that someone had just died. 

She understood what was happening rather quickly. 

"I got off the phone with one of Rhodes' friends," he began and took a deep breath. "The mission went south which resulted in lives lost. Rhodey was one of them."

Nat bowed her head in grief. "Where's Tony?"

"His floor. I'm going to be there soon."

"What's going to happen now?" Rocket asked. 

"We have a memorial, but a private one for his family and friends." Bruce replied to the raccoon. 

"I had to tell Tony that his friend wasn't coming home," Steve continues. "He thinks I'm lying about it."

"He's in denial," Nat added. "He needs to have someone by him right now."

Steve took a deep breath. "I'll talk to him."

                                                                                                                         ***

Steve walked on Tony's floor and looked around the area. "Tony? Can we talk?" He walked towards the kitchen to find him making funeral plans for his friend. "Tony, can we talk?"

"About what?" Tony asked.

"I want to see if you want to talk about it."

"He was the only person that cared about me when everyone left. He kept me from...uh, leaving."

"What do you mean?"

Stark shook his head. "Doesn't matter."

"Alright."  _Steve, what're you doing? Don't let that go! It could be dangerous!_

* * *

 

A few days later, the service was small with only the Avengers and close friends. No one could contact his mother. The gang took turns talking about Rhodes and his memories. Tony couldn't speak a full sentence without bawling. Steve had to help him off of the podium. 

"You did good, Tones." Rogers whispered. 

Tony sat by his friends and buried his face. "I can't stay here."

"You need to step out?" Nat asked and stood up. She urged him to stand up and grab her hand as they ventured to the hall. 

"I don't want to burry him, Nat." Tony revealed as his voice cracked at the end. 

"None of us do," she agreed. "You have us, too. We all care about you."

"I know. He saved my life so many times, and I don't know if I ever thanked him."

Nat grabbed his shoulders softly to make him look at her. "You have?"

"How?"

"By staying alive with us."

 


End file.
